Tuesday, February 26, 2013

MURFREESBORO — An
educator hailed by Time Magazine as one of the “10 Best College Presidents” in
the country will headline an upcoming Black History Month event at MTSU.

University of Maryland-Baltimore County President Dr.
Freeman A. Hrabowski III will be a featured speaker at the Retention Summit, a
discussion of how to stem college dropouts among African-Americans.

Hrabowski’s presentation is slated to begin at 9 a.m.
Monday, Feb. 25, in the second floor ballroom of the Student Union Building. The
summit is free and open to the public.

Profiled last year on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” for his
dedication to educational innovation, Hrabowski has been tapped by President
Barack Obama to chair the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational
Excellence for African-Americans.

In a recent interview on WMOT-FM’s “MTSU On the Record,” Black
History Month Committee Chair Vincent Windrow said of Hrabowski, “His
reputation precedes him … He has a nationwide … reputation for these
outside-of-the box philosophies and methodologies relative to retention and
other areas.”

Following a question-and-answer session with Hrabowski, Dr.
Cynthia Calhoun, executive director of student retention and graduation at
Southwest Tennessee Community College, will present a model for launching a
college-wide student retention initiative with a focus on retaining black
males.

At 2 p.m., the summit will conclude with a presentation by
Dr. Karen Eley Sanders, associate vice president for academic support services
at Virginia Tech. Sanders will offer practical and proven approaches to retention
of students of color.

With the 2010 passage of the Complete College Tennessee Act
by the state’s General Assembly, funding formulas for state-supported colleges
and universities are now tied to retention and graduation rates.

MTSU recently announced that it granted more bachelor’s
degrees and graduated more students for less money in 2011-12 than any other
institution governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.

However, according to Windrow, the black graduation rate at
MTSU for 2004-10 was 39.9 percent, a figure Windrow says must be raised.

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devoted to learning, growth, and service. We hold these values dear, and
there’s a simple phrase that conveys them: “I
am True Blue.” Learn more at www.mtsu.edu/trueblue. For MTSU
news anytime, visit www.MTSUNews.com.